“Education breeds confidence. Confidence breeds hope. Hope breeds peace”
Welcome to Issue 71 of Quest News. We have 13 hours of off-the-job training for apprentices in care and education to read and learn.
Events of the week
National Storytelling Week 2023
National Storytelling Week takes place every year and is a celebration of the power of sharing stories. Stories teach us about the world, they allow us to step into someone else’s shoes and feel empathy, they help us to relax and escape and they can help develop essential literacy skills.
Approx. 60 mins
January 31 - National Bug Busting Day 2023
February 1 - Dignity Action Day 2023
February 1 - February 28 Raynaud's Awareness Month 2023
February 1 - February 28 LGBT History Month 2023
February 2 - Time To Talk Day 2023
February 3 - NSPCC Number Day 2023
February 3 - Wear Red Day 2023
Legislation
Confidentiality Policy
A confidentiality policy explains how the company expects its employees to treat the information they receive about clients, partners and the company and make sure it remains well-protected.
Approx. 60 mins
Video
The Instagram Effect
In just ten years, Instagram has gained over a billion users worldwide, shaping culture, trends and the way we live our lives. But its impact on society is increasingly being questioned as governments step up efforts to regulate social media networks.
This is the first documentary to examine the app’s effects on users since whistleblower Frances Haugen disclosed internal company research proving Facebook, now known as Meta, was aware of Instagram’s role in exacerbating issues around body image and self-harm for younger users. Meta says the research shows the majority of its users have a positive experience on the platform.
Haugen and a number of former Instagram and Facebook insiders, many speaking on camera for the first time, speak candidly about life inside the company. They reveal details of pivotal moments, such as Facebook’s acquisition of Instagram in 2012, and explain how these decisions shaped Instagram and its values.
The power of the platform is also explored through revealing testimonies from three British users: Lauren, Chenade and Abby. With unflinching honesty, they describe how their lives have been impacted by the app. Lauren was on Instagram for 13 hours per day and found herself increasingly struggling with an eating disorder. Chenade decided to get a Brazilian butt lift, one of the most dangerous cosmetic surgeries in the world, and promote it to her Instagram followers, only to regret her decision soon after. Meanwhile, home-schooled Abby turned to Instagram for solace and found herself sucked into anti-recovery communities who promote self-harm.
Approx. 60 mins
Safeguarding and ED & I
#WakeUpWednesday: 12 Top Tips for Building Cyber Resilience at Home
Most of us habitually check our doors are locked each night. We don’t leave our cars open with the keys in the ignition. We take care not to let anyone watch us enter our PIN at the cash machine. When it comes to cyber-security, however, many people aren’t anywhere near as routinely cautious – which is one of the reasons that online crime continues to pose a major threat.
The UK had the largest percentage of cyber-crime victims per million internet users in 2022; the US had the second-highest ratio. Nations with (relatively) wealthy populations who spent a lot of time online are, therefore, lucrative hunting grounds for cyber criminals. Our #WakeUpWednesday guide this week has useful tips to help you avoid joining the growing number of victims.
Approx. 30 mins
Sexual harassment
Crimestoppers has published a report by the University of Suffolk into sexual harassment in the UK which explores the impact on women and girls. Findings from a survey of 1,802 participants in the UK include: 16.8% of participants' who had experienced sexual harassment had their first experience when they were aged ten or younger; 30.9% of participants first encountered unwanted sexual behaviour between the ages of 14-16; and 29% first experienced unwanted approaches between 11-13 years.
Approx. 30 mins
Keeping children safe in education webinars
The Department for Education (DfE) will be holding a series of webinars to support its guidance on Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) in England. The webinars, aimed at all school staff, will focus on safeguarding topics including: low level concerns; a single central record; safeguarding partners; and sexting/online harms.
(Completing these can be counted towards your 20% off the Job learning – after each session)
Free Neglect Course from the London Grid for Learning
The London Grid for Learning is a charitable trust, with a focus on advancing education and generally making the UK’s learning sphere a better place to be. Although based in London, and London’s in their name their resources have provided fantastic content for safeguarding and educational staff, for years and it’s why they’re frequently promoted on the briefing. Their 2023 neglect training is no different, and we’re proud to put the course in this week’s briefing. It’ll be given by Alex Dave, a fascinating speaker whose just joined the company after a two year stint as project manager over at Surrey County Council. She’s been in education since 2006 after studying Early Childhood Education and Teaching at the University of Warwick, before moving abroad to teach in Japan as an English teacher. Since her return to the UK in 2007 she’s occupied senior management roles in organizations such as the MacIntyre organisation for disabled people and Young Epilepsy. And it is her unique interest in the area of neglect which has spurred her on to deliver this course. It’s an opportunity to study under a highly experienced professional, with a wide breadth of experience in the educational world, that’s not to be missed. To sign up for the neglect course please follow the link below:
Approx. 60 mins
A Contextual Safeguarding Approach to Radicalisation
Engagement with the UK government’s PREVENT programme is a vital part of educating children and young people, about the dangers and vulnerabilities they may be exposed to in the wider world. This week, Mubina Asaria, Online Safeguarding Consultant for the National Grid for Learning has written an engaging article, on the relationship between safeguarding and counter-radicalisation. In particular when it comes to the online space, a sphere in which your pupils will spend a significant amount of time. If you’re a curious safeguarding professional, or a member of the general educational staff the article is worth a look and can be found by following the link below:
Approx. 40 mins
Supporting and Identifying Children Involved in Modern Slavery
The world is changing. The growth of centralised states with powerful security apparatus has created an overly hostile environment for organised crime. This is particularly the case in states such as the UK and the United States. This in combination with a growth in the world’s interconnectedness and the increasing porousness of hard borders in contrast with the continuing demand for illegal goods, has led to a vast increase in trafficking of children and their enslavement. In conjunction with the exponential rise in internet speed and data capacity, has created a new threat environment for children and young people in the UK. Twenty years ago, practices such as using children for county-lines operations, or trafficking them abroad to undertake work for gang bosses, was confined to less orderly parts of the world. And the practice would not spread far. Yet today safeguarding and educational staff alike may find themselves confronted with a child who has been a victim of these reprehensible practices. At this point it would not be unreasonable to be overwhelmed with that question previously alluded to in a previous issue of the briefing – ‘what do I do?, how do I support this child?’ their training framework on how to approach these most difficult situations. To take a look please follow the link below:
Approx. 30 mins
Health & Safety
Stress and mental health at work
HSE defines stress as ‘the adverse reaction people have to excessive pressures or other types of demand placed on them’.
Workers feel stress when they can’t cope with pressures and other issues. Employers should match demands to workers’ skills and knowledge. For example, workers can get stressed if they feel they don’t have the skills or time to meet tight deadlines. Providing planning, training and support can reduce pressure and bring stress levels down.
Approx. 40 mins
Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022
The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 introduce new duties under the Fire Safety Order for building owners or managers (responsible persons).
Approx. 30 mins
Care leavers
TV news has published new research exploring the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on care experienced people in England. The research found that: 65% of care leavers are being significantly affected by cost of living; and 45% are struggling to buy food.
Approx. 30 mins
Defibrillators - How to Use Them
For the past decade the Oliver King Foundation has been tirelessly campaigning for the awareness of the need for defibrillators in schools. That effort has now borne fruit with the UK Government announcing the distribution of twenty thousand devices, to the country’s eighteen thousand state schools up and down the country. However, it cannot be expected that every one of the country’s near half-a-million teachers will know how to use them. With this in mind, the aforementioned Oliver King Foundation, has worked in conjunction with the British Heart Foundation, Resuscitation Council UK and St. Johns ambulance to formulate guidelines for their use and maintenance.
Before giving you the link, however I think it’s important to give a simple outline on what a defibrillator is. Invented by Belfast doctor Frank Pantridge in the 1960s, these devices are used to treat heart-attacks at source, by introducing an electronic current which works to end the cardiac irregularities which induce heart attacks. Their use in providing a short-term solution to sudden heart-attacks have saved countless lives and will be an excellent addition to your school’s medical arsenal. To get hold of the Oliver King Foundation’s guidance please follow the link below:
Approx. 40 mins
Wider Curriculum
How effective is your service?
Unsure? You and your team really need to know, as this is one of the key questions you will be assessed against when the CQC rolls out its new single assessment framework this year.
To help you prepare to evidence this, QCS has created a poster detailing the areas that you will be assessed against, so you can clearly demonstrate as a provider and team how you deliver high quality effective care and support to service users and that you understand the new quality statements.
Being effective also demands what the CQC describes, as a ‘culture of improvement, where understanding current outcomes and exploring best practice is part of everyday work.’
Approx. 30 mins
Care workers’ lack of power at work behind tolerance of poor pay and conditions, finds report
Sense of vocation, low union membership and lack of alternative flexible employment options reducing workers' ability to challenge poor work environment, finds Resolution Foundation
Approx. 30 mins
‘Why do we do social work, when it takes us away from our own children?’
A social worker discusses the worry and regret that come with a job that involves sacrificing time with their children – and what keeps him in the profession despite this
Approx. 30 mins
Social work in prisons: ‘it’s not what you think’
In the first instalment of a new series about social work in unusual settings, we explore the rewards and risks of working in a prison
Approx. 30 mins
Mental health patient safety review launched in wake of abuse reports
Minister announces rapid review to identify how safety risks and care failures can be better identified following concerns over abuse of patients, "toxic" work cultures, increased levels of violence and poor care
Approx. 30 mins
Most councils struggling to recruit and retain social workers, finds LGA
Children's social work is biggest workforce challenge for authorities as association warns services are being undermined by staffing 'crisis'
Approx. 30 mins
200 unaccompanied children still missing after disappearing from Home Office hotels
Over 4,000 children have been placed in hotels since 2021, with 440 missing episodes during that time, says minister, as campaigners and peers raise trafficking concerns
Approx. 30 mins
Early years wellbeing
The Institute of Health Visiting (IHV) has published the results from a survey of health visitors working with families across the UK. Findings from 1,323 responses include: 84% reported an increase in children with speech, language and communication delay; 76% reported an increase in child behaviour problems; and 60% of health visitors reported further increases in child safeguarding over the last 12 months. The institute calls for a shared cross-government strategy for the first 1001 days to improve health outcomes and reduce inequalities for babies, young children and families.
Approx. 30 mins
Kinship care
The Family Rights Group (FRG) has published a paper explaining what a definition for kinship care could look like. The draft sets out ways to create a definition which is broad enough to include all kinship carers as well as being simple and transparent enough to ensure families and practitioners are clear about their rights and responsibilities.
Approx. 30 mins
